Chapter 871 - Theater

Theater singing? Li Huowang was taken aback. The Lu Family Troupe was gone, so he hadn’t heard theater singing in a while.

He quickly assessed the situation and immediately deduced that the sound was coming from the huge landscape painting before him.

At that moment, the enormous landscape painting seemed to part like a beaded curtain, and a figure emerged from within.

This person had a red cord tied around his neck, a green tassel on his head, and a body draped with white feathers. His face had bright white stage makeup, making him look like a theater actor.

The problem was that this figure looked very strange. His sunken head was as large as his body, and he had a narrow face and eyes of different sizes, among other deformities.

His figure didn’t seem human—it was more like a grotesque, imperfect form.

Their bizarre appearance, combined with their stage makeup, created a terrifying effect.

Li Huowang didn't pay attention to the person's appearance. Instead, he focused on their pair of jade hands.

Now that they were closer, he could see more clearly. The tips of the person's fingernails were almost transparent, gradually turning greener the further up they went. Eventually, they disappeared behind the person's clothing.

It’s that thing! It can reach out and touch my creations from “Truth” cultivation! What exactly is it? A Tian Huang noble or the army of Unspeakable?

Zhuge Yuan stepped in front of Li Huowang, holding his fan and frowning at the figure.

Before Li Huowang could utter a word, the figure suddenly revealed a blood-red, gaping mouth with a single large tooth and two sharp teeth. Then, it began to sing.

“Speak~ What~ Flower-filled moonlit night and longevity. The mountains and rivers stretch with so much sorrow~!”

Li Huowang was even more disturbed when he saw the eerie figure singing. His bizarre feeling deepened, and his headache became unbearable.

What the hell is this?

Zhuge Yuan was about to advance with his brush. However, before he could paint, he saw the figure lay back and turn into a portrait within the landscape painting.

While Zhuge Yuan was engaged in battle, Li Huowang suddenly heard a new disturbance from behind. It was a woman’s low and sorrowful crying.

He swiftly turned around and saw a woman with a large head and black hair covering her face. She quickly floated by, her back facing him, while her billowing white sleeves and tragic theater singing filled the air.

“Heaven and Earth, how can they fear the strong and bully the weak? Oh Earth, you don’t distinguish right from wrong. Oh Heaven, you mistakenly judge the wise and foolish.”

For some reason, Li Huowang felt that he had seen this scene before, even though he had never encountered such a thing.

Before he could figure it out, the woman was already singing while swiftly stepping towards him!

As Li Huowang shouted angrily, Zhuge Yuan, who was engaged in battle, descended from the sky. He made a brush stroke in front of the woman, forcing her back slightly. Then, he quickly turned and dipped his brush into heavenly colors, drawing a protective array on Li Huowang’s robes to prevent further sneak attacks.

“Resolve this quickly. If it drags on, I won’t be able to hold on much longer,” Li Huowang said, clutching his head tightly.

Cultivating “Truth” was challenging enough already, and materializing this version of Zhuge Yuan made it even more straining.

Zhuge Yuan nodded. However, when he turned back, he found that the two figures had now become five—Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou.[1]

They ignored everyone else and surrounded Li Huowang, leaving him no room to escape.

With great caution, Zhuge Yuan glanced at Li Huowang and took out an old almanac from his pocket as he prepared to get serious.

“Brother Li, hold on. I’ll make an opening, and we’ll escape first. I have never seen such things in the Great Qi, so I’m unsure of their true nature.”

“This might be a trap. They could be lying in wait to deal with you.” Zhuge Yuan tore a page from the almanac, threw it into the air, and began writing.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew and opened the almanac, revealing the painted face of the Dan actress behind it.

“Look back at the splendor of that distant dream~ The life left to us is but a fleeting wave,” the woman sang and flung her sleeves at Zhuge Yuan.

Zhuge Yuan stepped forward and leaped to avoid her, but the lower part of his robe came into contact with the flowing sleeves.

Unexpectedly, the sleeves stuck to Zhuge Yuan’s robe. The force easily tore his lower body away, as if it had been pulled apart.

As the sleeves shook violently, Zhuge Yuan’s lower body shrank and eventually became a lump. The woman opened her mouth and swallowed the lump.

Seeing this, Li Huowang’s face turned grim, and he felt his headache ease. He understood what was happening—the Dan actress was eating his “Truth” cultivation. She could even consume the “Truth” on Zhuge Yuan!

As the Dan actress retreated, the Sheng, Jing, Mo, and Chou actors quickly surrounded him, leaving Zhuge Yuan’s half-body defenseless.

Zhuge Yuan barely managed to toss his spine back to Li Huowang before he was torn in half.

“Brother Li, be careful. It seems like this thing can touch the heavens and change the Daos!” Zhuge Yuan’s last words faded as he completely vanished.

The actors stood firm and surrounded Li Huowang once more.

Li Huowang looked at them with an ugly expression. Regardless of what those things were, It was clear that this situation would be difficult to handle.

Li Huowang called out, “Ji Zai! Help! If you don’t, you’ll be in danger too!”

No unusual responses came, and everything remained eerily calm.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Hmm, hahaha!" laughed the old Sheng actor with a long beard. His hearty laughter echoed through the valley.

The Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou actors turned their heads to see a large crowd moving towards them.

Among them were the newly established Surveillance Bureau and military personnel from Great Qi, followed by the Great Qi citizens who had just finished their meals.

The crowd seemed endless from the valley’s edge. It was as if everyone from the You Capital had come.

“Benefactor, don’t panic. We’ve come to help you!” Chan Du shouted as he led the group.

Did the Great Qi really gather so many people without me realizing it?

Li Huowang felt relieved. These five figures before him were challenging to deal with. However, the numerous people from Great Qi would be able to overwhelm them.

Suddenly, the surroundings turned into a forest again, with more actors representing the Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, and Chou roles slowly emerging from it.

Ten, fifty, a hundred!

They all had the same deformed appearance and wore the same theater costumes.

At this moment, Li Huowang finally understood their true identity. They were indeed the army of Unspeakable he had heard about!

1. The five various roles of Chinese opera. ☜